Normally I don't comment reviews, although of course I appreciate all of them, no matter what you say. Early, late, whatever. I love to hear what you all think of my story and really appreciate that you take the time to tell me this. Anyway: J. Stone. Get over it! It's what the boy is named and I can't change it. Too bad you don't like it, but there isn't anything I can do about it now, whether I wanted to or not. All you can do is learn to live with it ;) So does he :P
And of course thanks to my wonderful beta for proofreading, and it doesn't matter, happens to all of us:D
Chapter 4 The talkLorelai didn't sleep very well that night. She was nervous about the doctor's appointment. After today Luke and she would decide whether they wanted to have another child or not. Everything depended on what doctor Elder had to say. The morning after they came back from the cabin, Lorelai called Doctor Elder and managed to get an appointment for the next day. There was an opening in the doctor's schedule, and they understood that this was important.
Luke looked at his wife, knowing how nervous she was. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For putting you through this."
"Don't be. I understand Luke. I want this for us, and for our family, so don't worry about it."
He nodded, not quite sure if she was really okay with this, but at least happy that she understood that this was important for him.
"You ready to go?"
"Yeah. Let me get my jacket. You go put Lucan in his car seat."
"We don't have to take him you know. We can bring him to your mother, or I'm sure that
Sookie would be happy to look after him."
"I know, but he won't be any trouble. Plus, I'm sure that the doctor would love to see what he looks like now. It's been months since she saw him."
"Okay."
The drive to the clinic was quiet. Both Luke and Lorelai were lost in their own thoughts, thinking how this conversation could affect their lives. Since there wasn't much traffic on the road, it didn't take them long to get there. They were almost 20 minutes early for the appointment. As soon as Luke parked the car, Lorelai stepped out and took Lucan out of the backseat. Luke closed his eyes and sighed, and then got out of the car as well. He walked to Lorelai, who had just closed the back door and held Lucan's car seat in her right hand. He grabbed her left hand and squeezed it. They walked into the building together, hand in hand.
Lorelai signed them in, while Luke sat down with Lucan in the waiting room. They had to wait almost half an hour before Doctor Elder called them into her office.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said, after they all shook hands. "Look at that boy. He's gotten so big."
"Yeah. He's growing so fast. But that gives me a reason to go shopping very often because he needs new clothes again. And as long as it is for his son, Luke here is okay with it and some of the time I can even convince him to go with me." It didn't happen much lately, but Lorelai didn't felt like telling that. Plus, they didn't come for small talk.
"I bet you can. So, what brings you into my office? My assistant didn't write it down very clearly, so I am a little curious."
Lorelai glanced at Luke and immediately noticed that he didn't feel like telling the story, so she started. "Luke and I have been talking about having another child. Actually, a few months ago I though I was pregnant, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Since Lucan was not even four months old at the time, we decided it was too soon to have another child, but we're both getting older and we don't want to wait too long."
"I see." Doctor Elder nodded.
"A few days ago I told Luke that I was ready to try, but he is a little worried about the risks of a pregnancy for a woman of my age. He saw some kind of TV show about a woman who died during child birth and left the father alone to raise the baby. And now he's afraid something like that could happen to me."
"I understand your concerns. Every pregnancy brings its own risks, but there are two risk groups. The first group includes teenagers and the second group includes woman over the age of 35. The risks don't depend on how many pregnancies you have had, and if they were without complications or not. The risks are the same for every pregnancy. First of all, the chance of getting pregnant is lower than when you are younger. The chance of getting pregnant normally is about 20. After you turn 35, that chance is only 10. And we say that the older you get, the lower the chances of getting pregnant are. Second, the chances of getting a child with birth defects are higher. The most common handicap is down syndrome. When a 20 year old woman gets pregnant, the risk of getting a child with down syndrome is 1 of 1500. When you turn 35 the risk is 1 of 300 and when you turn 40 that risk is 1 of 100."
Luke and Lorelai nodded and tried to process all the information. "How would we know?"
"You don't know for sure if your child is healthy or not, until you are pregnant. There are tests we can do during the pregnancy to see if the child has a chromosome defect. There are two sorts of tests, and the first one can be done at 11 weeks and the second one at 16 weeks."
"What if the tests show that the baby has a defect?"
"That would be your decision. There are two options. The first one is to end the pregnancy. When you choose to take the first test, an abortion is a possibility, if you take the other test at 16 weeks, the only option is to go into premature delivery. Of course the child would be too young to survive. The second option is to carry the pregnancy to full term and let the baby get born, of course with disabilities. It's impossible to see how severe the disabilities are. But because the child will have a chromosome to many, it won't be normal. Most of the time, there are mental problems, but it's possible the child has physical problems as well."
She paused to make sure Luke and Lorelai could process all the information.
"What are the risks of those tests?" Luke asked.
"There is a small chance of a miscarriage. But that chance is actually smaller than the normal risks of getting a miscarriage. With both test, we go with a needle into your uterus. With the first test, we take a tissue sample of the placenta. With the second test we take a sample of the amniotic fluid. The risk of getting a miscarriage is a little lower than with the first test. If you decide to have a child and you get pregnant we will discuss the tests and the options."
"Like we did when I was pregnant with Lucan?"
"Yes. We discussed it then, and we will do it again. That you decided not to take the test then doesn't mean you don't want it this time. But I don't think we should focus our attention on this now."
"I agree. So, the chances of me getting pregnant are lower and the chances of getting a child with down syndrome is higher. But how about the chances of getting a healthy child?"
"The chances of getting a healthy child are much higher. However, the risks are there and you have to decide if you are willing to take the risks and what will happen to you and your family if you get a child with down syndrome or another disability. Even though those chances are slim, they could affect your life and that of your family drastically."
"But I have two healthy kids, and I had no problem at all getting pregnant since they both weren't planned. And everything turned out just fine, with the both of them."
"I understand, but like I said before, earlier pregnancies have nothing to do with the risks. The chances of getting pregnant are the same for everyone, whether you have one or more children or you have no child yet. However, one woman is more fertile than the other so the chances of getting pregnant could be higher than those of another woman of your age. But it's impossible to predict what is going to happen. And the same goes for the risks of getting a child with a birth defect. The earlier pregnancies have nothing to do with the risks you have now."
"How about the chances of going into premature labor?"
"Since you got premature contractions when you were pregnant with Lucan, we will be monitoring you extra carefully. Also, the risks of going into premature labor are a little higher than when you are younger. Plus, one thing I haven't mentioned yet, is that the chance of getting twins is bigger too when you get older, and with twins the risks of going into premature labor are higher as well."
Lorelai smiled as she thought about the dream she once had. Then she turned to Luke and tried to read the expression on his face. She could see that he was thinking and processing. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. Then she looked at the car seat in the chair next to her. Lucan was awake and was playing with one of his toys. She smiled and turned her attention back to Doctor Elder.
"I know it is a lot of information to process, and a lot of things you have to consider while making this choice. Do you have any questions so far?"
Lorelai shook her head. "Not really. From the way I see it there is no way to see what is going to happen until I'm pregnant, if we decide to take one of those tests, or until after that if we don't."
"That's right."
"Then there's nothing else I need to know. Luke?" She looked at her husband who was still lost in his thoughts. "Luke?" She said a little louder, trying to get his attention.
"What? Sorry. What was the question?"
"Do you have any questions?"
"What are the risks for Lorelai?"
"Every pregnancy brings its own risks, for the child as well for the mother. These risks aren't very high, but there is always the chance that something goes wrong. Complications during childbirth are rare, but happen every day."
"Just like every day healthy babies are born and both mother and child live happily ever after. Right?"
"That's right. The chances that everything goes right are much higher than that something goes wrong. It's hard to give you numbers about this, and I understand that you'd like me to tell you what to do but I can't. This is a decision the two of you have to make together and all I can do is share my knowledge, but you are the ones who have to make the decision, I can't do that for you. I'm sorry."
"I understand." Luke nodded. "I don't expect you to do that. You've been really helpful already and I guess Lorelai and I have to do the rest."
"That's right. Do you have any other questions?"
No, I can't think of anything."
"Okay. Then I wish you good luck with making this decision, and if you have any questions, you can always call me."
"Thank you." Lorelai stood up, ready to leave and to go home and discuss everything with Luke.
He followed her example and stood up as well, shaking doctor Elder's hand. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome." She watched Lorelai picking up Lucan's car seat. "He really looks like you Luke."
"That's what everybody else says. But he's definitely Lorelai's son as well. No matter how small he is, it's very obvious."
Doctor Elder smiled. "Good luck."
"Thanks." And with that they left the office.
-xxxxxx-
The drive back home was quiet as well. Both Luke and Lorelai were processing the information they got earlier and tried to find out where they were standing now. When they arrived home, they gave Lucan a bottle, and then put him to bed afterwards. They had both taken the day off which had caused a lot of complains from their staff, but they didn't care. Lorelai walked back downstairs and saw Luke sitting on the couch, their lunch in front of them on the coffee table. She sat down next to him. "Hey."
"Hey. Did he give you any trouble?"
"Nah, he was beat. Slept even before I left the room."
"Good, good. I made you a sandwich."
"Thanks." She took the plate that was standing in front of her from the table, took her sandwich in her hand and took a bite. After she swallowed she said. "Wow, this is really good. What is it?"
"Grilled chicken. New recipe."
"It's really good. You should introduce it on your menu."
"Really?"
"Absolutely." Their small talk continued until both of them finished their lunch. After that Lorelai couldn't take it anymore. "Tell me what you think Luke."
"It's hard Lorelai. I'm not sure what I think yet. From the way she makes it sound the risks aren't that high, but what if something goes wrong? What if we are with the one percent who gets a kid with down syndrome? What would that do to our family Lorelai?"
"I don't know. We talked about this when I was pregnant with Lucan and we decided that the test didn't matter, that we would love our child no matter what."
"I know. But we have him now. How will this affect him?"
"I don't know Luke. But from the way I see it there's a much bigger chance that he gets a healthy brother or sister he can grow up with. Wouldn't that be nice? The age difference wouldn't be that big so they can really grow up together. When I was younger I thought it was great to have a younger brother or sister, and Rory asked me about it so many times when she was younger too."
"I just have to think about it okay?"
"What are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen. I thought that Doctor Elder could take away my doubts, and she partially did, but not completely. I'm just not sure if it's worth the risks."
"Even if they are this low?"
"Even then. I know you really want this, and I'd love to have another kid too, but like I told you this Saturday, I don't want to sacrifice everything, because that would be selfish."
She tried hard to understand why he was feeling this way, but she simply couldn't. She was a little afraid herself, but from the way Doctor Elder put it, the chances of something going wrong were very low and there was a big chance they would get another healthy child, and then their family would be perfect. Not that it wasn't already perfect now, but then it would be really perfect.
Luke knew how much Lorelai wanted this and he wanted to tell her that he was okay with it, that he was willing to take the risks. But he wasn't sure. He was scared. Scared something could harm his family and he felt selfish for wanting to take even the smallest risk for doing so. In his eyes this decision wasn't as simple as Lorelai thought it was. But if he was one for taking chances, he would have asked her out long before he did and who knows where they would be right now if he had. But he didn't and he got what he wanted without taking a big risk. When he finally asked her out he knew for sure that she was on the same page. It wasn't until Jason showed up at the Dragonfly he started doubting himself. And he never really took any risks in his life. When he started a business he did the only thing he knew how to do, and wasn't afraid of failing. There wasn't a diner in Stars Hallow and he knew people would like one. And he was right. And every other decision he made in his life, didn't inquire taking risks. Every decision he made, he made out of certainty, and it terrified him that he didn't have any certainty now and his instinct was to run away from the problem. But he promised Lorelai that he would talk to her, like she had promised him. So they had to stay here, together and talk about this, and hopefully come to a decision they could both live with. But he doubted if it was possible.
"What are you thinking Luke?"
"I'm thinking about the things we know for certain. And I'm not sure if there are things we do know in this situation."
"But we do Luke."
"What? We don't know anything for sure. First of all, we don't know if you even can get pregnant, and second we don't know if we get a healthy child until it's born, unless we're willing to take one of these test."
"I know that I love you."
"That has nothing to do with this, and you know it. This isn't about love, this is about what's best for us, and our family."
"It's about a child Luke. We don't know anything for certain in life. There are only a few things in life we can count on, and even then we're not sure how long they last. And that must come out very weird out of my mouth, but I thought about this a lot and I think we're back to letting fear come to us. I thought that this meeting was about getting rid of the fear?"
"It was, but it's still there Lorelai. I know you want me to make a decision right now, but I can't. I have to think about this and I know that you've made up your mind but I haven't."
"So you want to think about this yourself?"
"Yes… No… Yes, I do. I know I promised you that we would talk about everything together and that we wouldn't walk away anymore, but I really need to think about this on my own for a while."
"I understand. Why don't you go fishing or something, it helps you to relax and it's quiet so you have all the time to think."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"Good. Then I think I'm going to pay my mom a visit. It's been forever since I had a day off and went to her for a visit. During Friday night dinners I don't get a chance to really talk to her, and it's different over the phone. It's not like I want to talk about this or anything, but I just want to see how she's doing."
"Sounds good. How about we meet back here for dinner, lets say around 7?"
"Sounds like a plan."
-xxxxxx-
Lorelai rang the doorbell and was surprised to see Emily open the door herself. "Lorelai, what are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd come by for a cup of coffee, mom."
"Where you in the neighborhood?"
"No. I took the day off and was at home and thought, how is my mom doing? And since I couldn't guess I figured I'd better ask you yourself."
"You could have called."
"Yes, I could have, but then you wouldn't have seen your grandson."
Emily smiled and it was as if it was the first time she noticed Lorelai had Lucan with her. "Come in, come in. I didn't want to be rude."
"I know mom." Lorelai stepped inside and followed her mother into the living room. "So, how have you been doing lately mom?"
"Just fine Lorelai. So, how was your weekend away? Rory told me that you were going to Luke's cabin."
"It was really great. I spend Friday there with Luke and it was really nice to have some time alone with him, although I missed Lucan a lot. It was the first time he didn't spend the night under the same roof as Luke and I, and that was pretty hard. But he had a great time with Rory of course, so I was worried about nothing. And they came to the cabin Saturday morning and we stayed there until Sunday evening. We went out for dinner and drove home after that. It was great to finally spend some time with Rory. We talked about a lot of things when the guys were doing guy things together and we also spend a lot of time as a family. We should have done it earlier."
"I'm glad to hear that everything went well. And you're right, you should have done it earlier."
"I was so stupid mom. If it weren't for you I probably still hadn't realized what I was doing, or that what I was doing was wrong. I never got to thank you for that, did I?"
"You did in your own way Lorelai." Emily smiled to her daughter. "So, what else is wrong?"
Lorelai felt caught. Now she was getting closer to her mother, Emily knew exactly when something was bothering her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Maybe that was a problem. "Nothing is wrong mom."
"Don't lie to me Lorelai, I know when something's up, and something is up. Tell me about it."
"After we came back from London, I told you about getting light food poisoning from the food in Rory's cafeteria right?"
"Yes. Both you and Rory were sick for a day, but after that it was over. You told me that."
"I didn't tell you the entire story." Lorelai sighed. "I was having weird moods for a while. I was acting very emotional towards everything, and then with the throwing up I thought that I was pregnant."
"Oh…" Emily didn't see that one coming.
"I freaked out and talked to Luke and together we decided that it would be okay and that we could handle it together. He bought me a pregnancy test, but while we were waiting for the results Rory called me and told me about the bad meat. And then the test was negative so I wasn't pregnant." She closed her eyes for a while, then opened them before continuing. "Between throwing up and the test results I had a dream about a baby. I was in the hospital, all alone, holding a baby girl. She looked just like Rory when she was born, only I looked the same I look now. I felt lonely, but than Luke walked in and then Rory and Lucan and we were all happy. And I thought that would be what my family would be like. Perfect, you know?"
"You can still get that right?"
"That's what Luke and I decided, but when I brought it up this weekend he said he changed his mind. He thinks the risks are too high and is not willing to take them. We went to see my gynecologist this morning and she explained the risks, and even though they are not high, Luke is still not willing to take them."
"So now what?"
"I don't know mom. I really want to have another child, but maybe Luke is right. Maybe the risks are too high."
"Maybe he's just scared."
"Oh he is. But fear isn't the right thing to base a decision on right? I'm not sure what to do mom. I send him fishing to give him time to think, and I came here hoping I could clear my head, but it's not really working so far."
"I'm sure you and Luke know what the right decision is Lorelai. You just have to trust your instinct and forget about everything else."
"Look who's talking." Lorelai smiled.
"I've been afraid too much lately Lorelai, and I decided that it's enough."
"Afraid about what?" This was something Lorelai hadn't heard before and she got worried right away.
"You know what happened after the accident. I thought I was going to die, but fortunately it turned out to be a panic attack."
"But that only happened once."
"No it didn't. I was so afraid it was going to happen again, I got another panic attack. Only this time I knew what it was and your father was there to help me."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You had enough to deal with Lorelai. And I didn't think it mattered."
"But it does to me mom. Everything that involves you matters to me. Why do you think that the only thing I have been doing regularly over the summer is calling you? Because I care mom. Things have changed between you and me, in a good way, and I care about how you are doing and what you are feeling. We could have talked about it."
"I'm sorry. I should have told you."
"How about those nightmares? The day we came back from London you mentioned having those."
"I mentioned that they stopped. I don't have them anymore. I had some help, especially after that second panic attack. I was having nightmares about the accident and about dying and I was scared that it would happen again. But I know now that it was an accident and I was lucky and that I have to move on with my life and have to stop being afraid. When I realized that, the nightmares stopped and I wasn't afraid to step into a car again. I didn't feel my heart beating in my throat all the time when I sat in a car, I slowly learned to relax again. It will never be the same, but I can't let fear control my life."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For telling me the truth, and for telling me exactly what I needed to hear right now. I think I know how I can solve this problem now. Thanks mom."
Even though Emily didn't know what she did she was proud that she had helped her daughter. "Do you want to go home now, or do you have some time for coffee?"
"I always have time for coffee mom."
-xxxxxx-
Luke put extra effort into dinner, because he knew he made today extra hard on Lorelai. He felt guilty that he needed time alone to think. While Luke cooked dinner, Lorelai fed Lucan, read him a story and put him to bed. By the time she came back downstairs, Luke had dinner served on the table.
"Smells good. What is it?"
"Steak, steamed vegetables and baked potatoes."
"Vegetables?" She lifted her nose.
"Don't give me that look. Try them first before you judge it. We will have a big problem if our son gets a little bigger and you refuse to eat any healthy food, he will do exactly the same."
"You don't know that. Plus, Rory grew up just fine."
"Except for her bad eating habits, just like yours. Just give it a try okay?"
"Fine." She didn't felt like fighting over food and she knew he tried really hard to make this a good meal. "What's that over the vegetables?" She asked when he filled her plate.
"Sauce. I figured you wouldn't eat them the normal way, but this way you won't even really taste them."
She smiled at the fact that he knew her so well. And when she tasted she had to admit that it was really good. "You're right, they are not so bad as I thought."
"Figured."
"Soo……" She started, not sure if she should push it.
"Soo…." He repeated.
"I talked to my mom, and I know that I promised not to mention anything but she totally saw through me and new something was up, so I told her anyway. I'm sorry Luke, I hope you're not mad."
"I'm not mad. What did she say?"
"That we have to forget about all the facts and make these decision by following our instincts. And then the conversation led to her accident and how afraid she was after that. She had nightmares about the accident and was afraid to get into a car. After that panic attack she had in our house that day, she had another one. My dad was there and he helped her so it wasn't so bad, but she still had one, and I didn't know. Anyway, she talked to someone and realized that she can't let fear control her life."
Luke nodded.
"Don't you see? That's exactly what we are doing here. Even though we promised each other we wouldn't, we are. Fear is controlling this decision even though we both know what we want. I can't talk for you, but I'll tell you what I want. I really want to have another kid Luke. Not that our family is not perfect already, but it doesn't feel complete. Maybe my dream is a part of it, but all I know is that I feel this way and I know that if we get another kid, that it would feel finished. I don't care about the risks, because in my heart I know that this is okay. That we will get a healthy kid, and about those facts and statistics, I have a feeling that everything will be okay and that we will get a healthy baby girl, or boy, not sure about that part of the feeling yet, but it will be healthy and it will make our family complete. And I…"
He put a finger on her lips to silence her. "Can I speak now?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Good. I've been thinking this afternoon, just like I promised I would, and I decided that I never took any chances in my life, not big ones anyway. But what I certainly never did was taking a decision out of fear. I thought about my dad and how he was afraid to move on after my mother died. I know it's totally different, but he was never happy again. My mother wouldn't have wanted him to live his life like that, but he did. And I don't want to be my father. I know that I look like him in many ways, but in that way I don't want to be like him. I want to be like my mother. My mother wasn't afraid of anything. Even when she got sick, she still wasn't afraid, or at least never showed it to me or Liz. She was the strongest person I've ever known, besides you."
Lorelai smiled.
"I just wanted to say that I'm ready now. I know that there are risks, but I'm willing to take them, because how will Lucan turn out if we're too afraid to take any chances? He will be one of those kids like Bradley. You remember Bradley?"
"How can anyone forget about Bradley." She smiled and suddenly realized what he just told her. "Did you just say that you want another kid?"
"I want nothing more than to have another kid. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through the last few days Lorelai."
"Don't be. I understand. You remember what I said in London?"
"Not really?" He said, unsure where she was getting at.
"When I thought I was pregnant I said that I thought it would be different the next time, that we would plan it. And if this isn't planning, than I'm not sure what planning is. We both know that we want this now, and this is what I wanted. Of course an easy, let's start trying would have been okay, but now we both know where we stand and that feels really good."
"So you're not mad at me?"
"No, Luke, of course not. I told you many times that I was not mad at you. I understand and it's okay."
"So we're going to have another kid?" He had to check.
"Yeah." Her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger, and her eyes any shinier as she said those words. Then suddenly she stood up. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"Come with me."
"But…."
"Come on Luke." She took his hand in hers and pulled him up. He had no choice but to follow her. They walked upstairs to the bathroom.
"What are we doing here?"
She opened the medicine cabinet and took out the strip of pills she was using at the moment.
"What are you doing?"
She threw them into the garbage. "There, now it's official."
"Can you just do that?"
"I was almost at the end. I had 3 more pills left so it doesn't really matters. I will have my period in a few days and then after a week, we can officially try."
With a big grin on his face he pulled her towards him. "How about practicing?"
"I don't think we need any practicing. We're pretty good." She kissed him anyway.
He didn't say anything, instead he just pulled her into their bedroom.
-xxxxxx-
Lorelai woke up around 2 o'clock and had trouble falling back to sleep. She looked at Luke and smiled. He looked happy, even in his sleep. She caressed his cheek with her hand. then moved forward to place a kiss on his lips. She laid her head back on her pillow and kept watching him. It didn't take long until he woke up and with a gruff voice he said "stop watching me."
"Sorry, I can't help it."
"Why are you awake anyway? It's the middle of the night."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Why not?"
"I had the same dream again. The one I had in London. It went on a little longer than the last time though. You came to take me home. You all came to take me and our baby girl home. That's when I woke up, because I started thinking, how are we going to put a baby in this house Luke?"
"You think about that in the middle of the night?"
"Can't help it. I woke up thinking about it, and I think it's a big problem. We were lucky to have on spare bedroom for Lucan, but we're out of rooms in this house now. The crap shack isn't that big."
"You're not even pregnant yet. We have enough time to talk about this."
"I know, but I thought about it and it just kept me awake you know? I mean, we could give the baby Rory's room, but I don't want Rory to feel that she's unwelcome, and she still uses her room on the weekends. Not every weekend, but still. I don't want her to feel that she is being replaced or something."
"We're not going to give the baby Rory's room Lorelai. We can see if somewhere in Stars Hallow there is a house for sale that we both like, and if you really don't want to leave this house or we don't find anything we like, we can stay here and build an extra room for the baby. But there is a lot of time so we don't have to discuss this at 2 in the morning. Go back to sleep."
She yawned. "I am kind of tired. All that practicing wore me out."
"Oh, I thought it was having all those thoughts hurting your brain in the middle of the night, but hey, at least you give me the credit."
"I'm not at all giving you the credit. Plus, why would you be proud at getting me tired anyway?"
"Never mind, Lorelai. Go back to sleep."
"Fine." She leaned over him to kiss him, then laid her head on his shoulder, and it didn't take long, before she fell back asleep, having another dream about the new baby.